Prove Your Worth
by xX.Chu-Chan.Xx
Summary: After those three days in the infirmary, a certain couple struggled with their feelings, unsure of what to expect and what not to expect. Jason was being a little over-protective, Percy a little cautious and confused, while their girlfriends wouldn't seem to stop giggling. Will it work out in the end as they prove their worth for each other?
1. Never Expect

**WHOOO! My first PoJ fanfic! And it's a WillxNico! No surprise there. :D I think Solangelo's a beautiful pairing that needs more attention and more fics!**

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><p><em><strong>Prove your Worth<strong>_

_**Chapter 1**_

Dark eyes stared at the bright blonde hair that stuck out in the group of demigods from afar. It was campfire night and Nico couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that a certain demigod wasn't sitting next to him while promptly ignoring Jason who was chattering away beside him. Not that the other blonde would notice, since Piper was doing all the replying.

Thinking that he had been staring for too long, he finally tore his gaze away with a small frown and shook his head. What was he even thinking? Just because they were close during those three days in the infirmary, doesn't mean he had to act all chummy all the time. And he definitely wasn't expecting anything. Nope. Nothing at all.

Hmm… maybe if he shadow-travelled he would catch his attention?

"Nico, were you even listening?"

Nico immediately darted his gaze back to Jason, who frowned at him in disappointment, while Piper seemed to be giving him that knowing smile.

"Sorry… the songs made it hard to hear you…" He muttered, and as if on cue, the kids from the Apollo cabin suddenly started singing a little too loud as they reached the chorus of the song Nico had no idea what was called.

It took him all his will not to look around to check on a certain blonde.

Jason gave him a suspicious look, but nevertheless spoke, "As I was saying… I was planning to go visit Camp Jupiter for a while. Just to check how things are going there."

"I'll be going too!" Piper cheerfully added.

"You wanna come with?"

Nico hesitated. Half of him wanted to go… but… this other half didn't really want to. But just looking at Jason's expectant face… he couldn't just say no. What can he say? He had a soft spot for the guy who first found out about his most embarrassing secret. But on the other hand… something… rather _someone _was holding him back. And he really didn't like the way the daughter of Aphrodite was looking at him. Smiling slyly as if she knew what he was thinking.

"Percy and Annabeth would be coming along too, to go check out that college they were planning to attend to." Jason added, as if that was going to make him agree even more. Technically, after that confession, Nico was pretty sure everything between them just got a little more awkward. Okay… he wasn't entirely sure since he had pretty much been avoiding the son of Poseidon.

"Well…?"

Nico held back a sigh, and shrugged, "Sure… why not?"

"Really?! Alright!" Jason grinned from ear to ear. Meanwhile, Piper looked a little surprise and at the same time disappointed. Nico didn't miss the way she turned to look at the kids of the Apollo cabin. Feeling a little stupid that he actually almost denied Jason's offer just for a stupid Apollo kid, he nodded firmly, "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." Jason hastily added, "But if it's a little too soon, we can move it—"

"No it's fine." He then stood up, giving his all not to look around for Will, "I should probably go and start preparing my stuff for tomorrow then."

Jason nodded, grin still intact. Nico felt his mouth twitch a small smile before walking out, trying to blend with the shadows as much as possible to avoid any attention from the campers.

"Don't worry, we'll only be there for a week!"

He suddenly heard Piper shout over all the noise and songs making him blush. Was he that obvious?

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><p>Nico trudged a little faster as his cabin came into view. Relieved that he finally got to have time for himself, he eagerly reached out for the door knob, only to be held back by when someone suddenly grabbed his arm. Without hesitation, he took out his sword and pressed it against the neck of the person who dared sneak up on him.<p>

"WOAH! It's just me!"

As soon as he came face-to-face with the intruder, he felt his heart actually skip a beat and almost felt embarrassed of his actions. _Almost_. He still remembered how upset he was earlier and swiftly sheathed the dark blade. He forced to tear his dark eyes away from his blinding blue ones by looking at the bright camp fire from afar, "You should've known better than to sneak up on me like that, Solace."

"Yeah, well… if you weren't so deep in thought, maybe you would've heard me calling for you. It wasn't hard to miss you walking out in the middle of our song." Will Solace pouted, "And I was about to do a solo too."

Nico tried to push down the fluttering of his stomach and held back the urge to touch his face and pinch his cheeks, "Yeah? Well now I'm really glad I left. I might accidentally summon Elvis to slap you if I had stayed any longer."

The blonde laughed at that and Nico couldn't help but feel angrier. Angrier that his anger from earlier was easily wiped out by his smooth, melodic voice. He can't sing, but he sure can laugh.

"So what did you need that you had to walk out from your solo?" He raised an eyebrow while tapping his sword impatiently. He really wanted to get inside in his cabin and probably just go to sleep. He'd just do the packing tomorrow.

For a moment, Will looked embarrassed as he seemed to have forgotten his purpose… or was there even a purpose?

"I… I was wondering why you suddenly walked out like that." Nico felt his face heat-up as he couldn't help but… _assume _something. Suddenly, Will cleared his throat as he looked at anywhere but him.

"I-I mean if you were feeling unwell or something… I had to make sure that you haven't been using your Underworld-y stuff." And as if to emphasize his point (which was really pointless), "Remember? Doctor's orders."

Nico rolled his eyes, feeling more annoyed and disappointed at the son of Apollo before giving him a quick, stiff nod, "Right. I'd keep that in mind while I head back to Rome."

Just as Will finally looked at him with wide, surprised eyes, Nico had turned around and entered his cabin. Shutting the door in his face just as the blonde was about to open his mouth to probably ask something—which Nico never found out.

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><p>Will never thought there would come a time when he'd actually be enjoying his stay in the infirmary until those three days happened. Technically, hanging around with the injured and constantly complaining demigods isn't really a day to look forward to… <em>unless<em> you get to hang-out with injured and constantly complaining demigods _with_ a side bonus of a grumpy, less than happy son of Hades!

He was like those toys you usually get to have after buying a happy meal in that clown fast-food restaurant!

Though honestly, Will had no idea why, since Nico was just as cranky as any other demigods he treated. But… his presence was an entirely different story. When he's around he feels lighter and a bit more cheerful than he usually was. He always loved teasing him, watching him scowl, splutter and blush… it made his stomach do some flips.

There was just really something about him that Will couldn't put his finger on.

Like, when he was trying to stop the bleeding from a badly wounded kid from the Ares cabin, he couldn't help but stare at Nico from afar, who was reading some batman comics that Jason must have lent to him, and the smile was totally not on purpose (the Ares kid promised to beat him to a pulp thinking that Will was enjoying his torment) as it formed on his face.

And even with his hectic schedule, he would always find himself next to Nico chattering about some nonsense, while the son of Hades nodded and listened. Giving him a half-smile when he would grin widely and watching those dark eyes lighten a bit as he made some jokes.

Though the son of Hades wouldn't react much, he still enjoyed those small smiles and treasured them just as you treasure something you knew you couldn't have.

And just like that, it was Nico's last day in the infirmary and Will tried to hide his disappointment. But what was he supposed to be disappointed about anyway? He should be happy for the demigod— and should even congratulate him for managing to stay in the noisiest and most disturbing place in camp for three days straight.

As he approached Nico who was already on his feet, stretching his stiff muscles, his blue eyes softened and he smiled.

"So… last day." He tried to not sound disappointed. A patient's purpose in the infirmary _is_ to get out of the infirmary after all, "I bet you're excited."

The shrug he received made him feel a little happier than he should've felt, "I guess…"

And that was that. He goes over one last check-up just to make sure. The claw marks on his biceps were healing perfectly. He asked for any pain that he was currently feeling and checked his temperature, heartbeat (which was always fast for some reason) and finally…

He grabbed the small pale hand of the boy and felt the familiar current pass through him. The darkness was still there, but it was not as strong as before and it wouldn't be able to consume the boy before him, which relieved Will greatly.

Unconsciously, he ran a thumb over the pale knuckles and felt the other stiffen, but fortunately, this time Nico didn't pull away. Realizing he was still holding his hand another electric current ran through his own hand and he lets go a little too quickly. That was… _different_.

He looked up to see Nico staring at him questioningly. He immediately grinned to cover up his surprise, "Good news. It seems like the darkness inside you is finally retreating. But even so—no shadow travelling, and no summoning the dead—not even Jules-Albert. If you ever need to drive, I'd rather you come back here from a car accident rather than you fading away from me. I would like to deal with a patient I can touch, thank you very much."

Nico suddenly went red, and he tried to cover this with a scowl and a glare in which Will couldn't help but return with a smile. Though he couldn't help but be surprised at what he just said.

Finally, the prince of darkness thanked him and left the infirmary. All the while, Will watched as he walked off, shoulders hunched and hands in his pockets, almost like any other insecure teen and he couldn't help but sigh at this. The kid really had no reason to be insecure. When would he learn that everyone wasn't afraid of him nor do they not want him around?

Nico suddenly turned around, eyes a little wide with expectance and Will automatically grinned as he waved. His heart pounded hard against his chest as he saw the son of Hades return the wave and smiled, cheeks dusted with red, before turning around and abruptly ran off.

And with a goofy grin on his face he goes back to the infirmary, practically radiating with good vibes much to the grumpy patients' chagrin.

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><p>It had approximately been a week since he talked to Nico, and he would often find himself looking around, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of the scrawny kid. They had just finished their little game of Capture the Flag, and fortunately their team won! So now, here they were singing their victory, some tone-deaf, some not.<p>

Though he really wasn't paying much attention to his singing, nor did he care how off-tune he was in the second verse, for his eyes were solely trained on Nico di Angelo who sat across him, at the other side of the huge campfire, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

As usual, he had that grumpy look on his face as Jason chatted beside him. Suddenly, those dark eyes landed on him and Will finds himself looking away. A little embarrassed. Though as usual, he didn't know why. Most probably because he remembered seeing Nico hanging around outside the infirmary for the past week, but never having the time to go out to talk to him. Of course he tried to, but when he would try to step out, he would be dragged back by either his siblings or the pained moaned of a patient.

Suddenly the voices of his siblings got louder snapping him out of his reverie.

_There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay  
>But that's not what gets meee~!<em>

So when did campfire songs turn into sad love songs? Since the Apollo cabin decided that they've already sung all the campfire songs and decided to make this suggestion box for campers to drop the songs they want. Unfortunately though, all popular songs are 99.9% in the romance genre.

_What hurts the most~ was being sooo close!_

Suddenly he noticed Nico standing up. Jason was grinning like there's no tomorrow while his girlfriend frowned. And before he could wonder why, the ghost boy started walking away.

_And having so much to say~  
>And watching you walk awaaay~<em>

Okay, that part was totally weird, Will decided, before leaving to go catch up with Nico.

_And never knowing, what could've been..!  
>And not seeing that loving you… was what I was trying to do—<em>

"Don't worry, we'll only be there for a week!"

Piper Mclean's voice practically dominated all the noise, which surprised him. But her words made Will stop and think, _'A week… where?'_

As he managed to sneak out (if you call your siblings snickering at you from behind while you try to dodge the campers around you sneaking out), he ran through the fields, trying to call out to Nico, who couldn't seem to hear him.

He was near his cabin and Will quickly grabbed his arm before he could enter, and the weird current ran through him once more. Fortunately, he didn't have to hold on for too long because the next thing he knew, there was a blade pressed against his neck.

"WOAH! It's just me!"

He watched as those onyx eyes widened and for a moment Nico looked embarrassed. But the look immediately disappeared as he swiftly sheathed his weapon, his face now blank and unreadable.

_Not a good sign_. He thought.

"You should've known better than to sneak up on me like that, Solace." He said, sounding cold as ever.

To some, they take that as a cue of, _leave me alone or I'll impale you._

But to Will, it was like an opportunity for him to say something funny to cheer him up instead.

"Yeah, well… if you weren't so deep in your thoughts, you would've heard me calling for you. It was not hard to miss you walking out in the middle of our song." He pouted, trying to lighten up the mood, "And I was about to do a solo too."

He watched as the stern mask melted away and he couldn't help but mentally give himself a nice pat in the back.

"Yeah? Well now I'm really glad I left. I might accidentally summon Elvis to slap you if I had stayed any longer."

He couldn't help but laugh at that. He was happy that Nico was riding with his joke.

Suddenly before he knew it, Nico's stern look was back, "So what did you need that you had to walk out from your solo?"

And for a moment he was flustered, then embarrassed as he realized he had actually no idea why he decided to run after him. Nico was starting to look impatient and he was slowly bringing back that blank mask.

"I… I was wondering why you suddenly walked out like that." He quickly reasoned. It was the truth after all. He didn't dare look up at his face as the ghost boy seemed to have shifted and did not say anything. Feeling even more awkward, he quickly cleared his throat and continued,

"I-I mean if you were feeling unwell or something… I had to make sure that you haven't been using your Underworld-y stuff." Then he added lamely, "Remember? Doctor's orders."

There was another moment of silence and Nico shifted again. And this time his tone changed.

"Right. I'd keep that in mind while I head back to Rome."

Will had to look up as he heard that. _Rome? Wait. What? _And just as he was about to open his mouth and ask, Nico had already entered his cabin and shut the door in front of his face.

He stood there, his mouth hanging open for thirty seconds before dropping his head. He groaned and ruffled his hair.

Apparently, he had done something wrong.

He walked back to the other campers and was surprised that they were still there, still singing the same song. They must've asked for an encore.

_-but I know –if I could do it over—  
>I would trade—give away— all the words that I saved—<br>in my heart, that I left unspokeeeen!_

He was starting to hate this song. He was about to sit back with his siblings when he saw a certain daughter of Aphrodite stand up and talked to a certain blonde while pointing to her cabin. Jason nodded and Piper smiled and said something before giving him a kiss on the cheek and walked off.

Before Will knew it, he found himself following another demigod once more.

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><p>Hushed whispers and murmurs echoed in the mind of the son of Hades. Ghosts and souls luring him to join them and he felt nothing but the cold. He tried to cover his ears, trying to keep the voices away but they only seem to grow louder and louder.<p>

He suddenly had this crazy urge to look down at his hands, though he already knew what to expect.

His hands slowly became transparent but he tried to willed it to stop. Trying to remember his name, his background, his sisters, his family, his friends… anything to remind him he was alive— anything to keep him from becoming a ghost. But to his horror, it wasn't working.

His feet were now fading as well and Nico couldn't help but wonder if this was the end. If this was _finally_ his end.

"Hey, it's okay!"

A hand suddenly grabbed the hand that wasn't supposed to be there anymore. His next reaction was to look up and he was surprised to find himself looking at none other than Will Solace. His hair was slightly disheveled, and his plain white shirt was crumpled and tucked messily inside his jogging pants. He looked tired and his brilliant blue eyes showed nothing but concern, but he was smiling.

He was then aware that he seemed to be lying down on a bed, in the infirmary, and it was night time. Just as he was about to wonder how'd he ended up there, another hand finds itself on his head. He should've flinched away. But for some reason, he finds himself leaning to the touch. Just to make sure that he was still there. Solid and alive.

"You're okay." Will smoothly said, "I'm here. And I'll never let you fade, di Angelo."

He felt his eyes stung and he quickly shut them. And once he opened them, he finds himself back in his cabin. Streaks of sunlight lit the room up making him squint at the sudden brightness. He pushed himself off his coffin-like bed and rubbed his face, trying to rub off the sleepiness away.

The remnants of the dream were still there and he soon felt his face heat-up. Technically, it wasn't a dream. Well, the first part was, but the moment Will appeared, he knew the memory of his first day in the infirmary had resurfaced. Somehow his mind managed to sew those two up—which was weird… but would've made sense since at that time he was at the verge of fading as well.

It was nothing big, but Will somehow sensed his distress and before Nico knew it, he was right next to him, assuring him and comforting him.

Guilt suddenly welled up inside him as he remembered what happened last night. He unconsciously looked out the window as if expecting to see the son Apollo still standing outside. And of course, he wasn't.

He stood there for a couple of seconds contemplating what he should do next. The sudden growl from his stomach surprised him, and without further ado, he decided to go get some breakfast first before figuring out what to do next with a certain demigod.

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><p>He was now dressed in a fresh pair of dark jeans which may have been a little too long so he folded the end just a few inches above his boots, a black V-neck shirt covered in white stripes and a gray hooded-jacket. He actually felt a little uncomfortable with his sudden choice of outfit. Since when did he care about fashion anyway?<p>

He self-consciously tugged on his jacket and headed to the mess hall. There were a few people around and Nico couldn't help but wonder what time it was. Most of the campers must've already left to do camp activities.

He unconsciously looked over the Apollo's table and felt his heart almost jump out of his ribcage as he saw a certain blonde sitting by. But no sooner did he feel disappointment as he realized it wasn't Will. He felt a little annoyed at feeling disappointed and immediately headed to his table with a deep scowl.

As soon as he got his food and gave his offering, he started stabbing the pancake on his plate, trying to vent out his frustrations. He of course knew how stupid that was.

"Woah, what did that pancake ever do to you?"

He looked around to see Percy Jackson.

All hunger he felt left as he slowly turned pale. The son of Poseidon smiled and shifted his footing, lifting the bowl he was holding he asked, "Mind if I join you?"

Nico wanted to say he could have the table but realized this was _his_ table. So to save himself from further embarrassment he looked away and nodded. He didn't understand why he was acting like this. What happened to all that courage he managed to muster up before confessing his embarrassing crush on the guy who was now sitting in front of him? _Gods! _Why did he have to sit in front? If he sat beside him then he would at least have a reason to just look ahead.

"Hey… uh… you okay?"

"M'fine…" Nico mumbled and ate his pancake. This day could not just get any worse. There was a moment of silence as Nico tried not to look like he was in a hurry to finish his pancakes while Percy just sat in front of him, stirring his blue cereal. He could practically sense the other's hesitance.

Finally, Percy sighed and looked up, sea-green eyes shined like emeralds, "Nico… look, I don't want things becoming awkward between us."

He swallowed his pancake with a bit of difficulty before stabbing another piece, not really sure what to say. Fortunately, Percy seemed willing to elaborate further,

"What happened… I just want you to know it was cool and really, I don't mind." And much to the ghost king's surprise he added, "Except for the fact that you said I wasn't your type. Not cool. How can I not be anyone's type?!"

And before he knew it he was chuckling and almost choking at his food. Percy grinned at him and slowly that grinned turned into a soft smile. His heart fluttered at the sight, but it wasn't the same as back then. Now… it was a little… _different_.

"I just want us to be friends again and I want us to stop trying to avoid each other all the time. _Gods! _You have no idea how childish that is!" Percy exclaimed looking exasperated.

"Are you calling me childish, Jackson?" There was no hint of anger, just amusement. Truth to be told, he really was the one who did most of the avoiding after all.

"Maybe…?" Percy grinned and reached out to ruffle his hair which Nico tried to slap off. The son of Poseidon laughed as he held both his hands up once the younger teen threatened that he would make him fall through the earth down to the underworld just by the field of punishment if he didn't stop messing up his hair.

Finally, as they settled down, Nico sighed and spoke,

"Look… Percy, I—"

"I hope you're not apologizing, because I don't think you have any reason to be sorry about at all." All the amusement had faded from his features and now the hero was giving him a stern glare, "You absolutely have no reason to be apologizing to me about anything."

"But—"

"I'm the one who's supposed to be apologizing here." Percy sighed, pushing his cereal aside, "I wasn't even aware, and gods, I never realized how much I've been such a jerk!"

"Yeah… you usually have that bad habit of not noticing." Percy immediately gave him a deadpanned look and he couldn't help the small smirk, "It's fine, really. You wouldn't have known. After all, why would I let you know something so… _embarrassing _back then?"

Percy shook his head, "Dude, it doesn't even matter. We would never shut you out just because of that. I wish you could've at least trust us you know?"

He shrugged, feeling a little better at the turn of events, "Well, I did now, didn't I? Better late than never."

And with that, the taller teen grinned and held out a hand, "Friends?"

Nico smiled back, a bit embarrassed, before hesitantly accepting the other's hand, no spark or electric current unlike that time when they shadow-travelled, and the son of Hades couldn't help the smile that widened significantly, "Friends."

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><p>All the good vibes from morning was immediately drained out when Nico couldn't find the son of Apollo anywhere. He had no choice but to head back to his cabin when afternoon came. Jason called out to him to hurry up, the SUV was already waiting.<p>

Completely getting lost with the track of time, Nico accidentally skipped lunch to go back to his cabin and stuff some random clothes in his backpack. He didn't bother changing clothes as he quickly headed out when he heard more honking from afar.

Nico scowled at this and sprinted towards the exit of the camp. Argus was by the driver's seat, looking bored. He turned and immediately saw Jason putting his bag inside the van before shutting the door. Annabeth and Percy leaned against the vehicle talking animatedly to one another. Once they noticed him, Percy grinned and waved, Annabeth did the same, looking happy and proud at the same time.

He waved back before turning to Jason who adjusted his glasses, "Where's Piper?"

"She's on her way."

And as if on cue, Piper comes running down the hill waving at them excitedly. She wore a checkered button-up shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. Her hair braided to the side as usual with the blue feather dangling back and forth as she ran.

"What took you so long?" Jason frowned, taking her bag from her once she stopped in front of them.

Piper suddenly gave Nico a funny look which made him frown in suspicion. This can't be good.

"Sorry, someone wanted to tag along." She chirped cheerfully. And before her boyfriend could ask, Piper turned around just in time to see a blonde boy trudging towards them, a back pack slung casually over his shoulder and his attire was a simple casual blouse and jeans rather than the usual green surgeon shirt and cut-off shorts… but still wearing those flip-flops—

Nico shook his head as he realized that that wasn't the problem here. He turned visibly pale before looking at Piper for an explanation.

"Well, he insisted he needed to take care and keep watch of his patient, just to make sure he wouldn't start using his "Underworld-y magic"." Piper's grin widened, while dread just settled in Nico's stomach… as well as the new set of skeletal butterflies he really wanted to get rid of.

He didn't miss how Jason seemed to stiffen and how Percy looked at him and Piper in confusion, then at Will. Annabeth, meanwhile, smirked at the daughter of Aphrodite. His attention was immediately drawn back to Will who halted in front of him and grinned so bright, Nico almost squinted.

"It's a Doctor's duty after all."

Nico hoped he wasn't turning red, because his face was definitely on fire at the moment. He tried to scowl just to hide this and spoke (trying to sound annoyed as much as possible), "_Doctor's orders_, I presume?"

The grin melted into a soft smile as he agreed, _"Doctor's orders."_

_**End of Chapter**_

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><p><strong>In case you're wondering, the song's called 'What Hurts the Most' by Rascal Flatts. <strong>

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**Please and thank you! ;D**


	2. Don't Let Go

_**Thanks for the reviews and faves! Hope you enjoy this!**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2<br>**_

"_I'm here. And I'll never let you fade, di Angelo."_

Those words kept echoing in his mind like a mantra, much to Nico's chagrin. Of course, the way the situation was, he couldn't help but feel like they had a connection, or maybe he was thinking too much and Will was being the weirdo he was, and just wanted to see Camp Jupiter.

He looked over to Will from his seat, the demigod had earphones in his ears and was nodding his head along with the music he was listening to. As if sensing his stare, he looked at him and gave him a lazy smile. Before Nico could react, Jason's face blocked his view, "Is something wrong?"

"Uh… no."

Giggles were suddenly heard from the front and Nico glared at Piper who was peeking at them. She immediately ducked back to her seat before whispering to Annabeth about something and just like that, they started snickering.

Nico couldn't understand why that didn't seem to bother Jason at all and settled on scowling instead. He suddenly remembered how before the road trip started, Nico had taken a seat at the back and Will immediately followed him and sat next to him, grinning like a fool all the while, and just as the son of Apollo was about to open his mouth to speak, Jason suddenly wedged himself between them, smiling innocently at the two. _Too innocently_.

Of course Nico wanted to ask him why he wasn't sitting with Piper instead. But looking at Piper who looked back at them with amusement, she didn't seem to mind. Rather, she looked like she was going to have a fun ride. It was worse when Annabeth decided to sit next to her, smiling like she knew what the other was thinking.

And Percy settled next to his girlfriend. However, after a couple of miles, he decided to transfer to the unoccupied seat behind them when the two girls started chatting too much.

"Hey, I brought some snacks!" Will's voice was a little too loud since he still had his earphones on. He held out a bag of chips to Jason, who politely declined before holding it out to Nico.

Nico hesitated but reached out to grab some (he started feeling hungry since he just skipped lunch), but he was surprised when Will grabbed his hand and tilted the bag to make the chips fall into his hand. Some almost fell to the ground but Nico quickly tried to catch them with his other hand, scowling at Will all the while as he added more chips to his other hand.

He tried to glare, but it was hard with the warm hand now holding both his.

Jason took that moment to clear his throat and Will let go. Now Nico wanted to scowl at Jason next but settled on leaning back on his seat to munch on his chips, muttering a small thanks. He looked at Will who was still smiling at him before turning to look back outside the window, eating on what's left of his chips, seeing that he must've given almost the entire content to him.

Then there came another round of giggles as Percy took that cue to ask if there were any chips left for him.

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><p>The traffic was now making him drowsy. Will yawned before turning to look over at Nico, who had promptly fallen asleep about an hour ago while leaning against the window. Will knew Nico would still be sleeping and eating a lot, thanks to the after effect of using too much of his dark powers.<p>

It would probably take him a long time before he reached full-recovery, but at least he was heading there.

He stared at the peaceful look of the son of Hades. He truly was an entirely different person when he was asleep.

A hand suddenly waved in front of his face, snapping him out of his reverie, and he looked at Jason who seemed to be trying to talk to him, but he could only hear bits and pieces of his voices. He hastily took off one earphone, "Sorry, what was that?"

He almost forgot the dude was sitting next to him. Not.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed that he didn't get to sit next to Nico. He was really looking forward to talking to him about a lot of things (like what happened last night and why he was acting so grumpy… well, grumpier than usual) and share the food in his bag, because he really packed a lot and still had a lot… and it was hard to share with the blonde between them almost blocking him all the time.

"You're staring." Jason spoke with a frown.

"Uh… yeah, guess I am." He grinned, not really sure if he meant him or Nico.

The son of Jupiter shifted in his seat, still staring at him, "You didn't have to come to watch over Nico. We can do that just fine."

Will adjusted the volume of the song he was listening to and leaned back while shrugging, "Just wanted to make sure you know? And besides, I always wanted to find out what Camp Jupiter looked like. I heard it's awesome."

This seemed to have softened the stern look on Jason's face at the mention of his home turf. And just like that, they soon find themselves talking about Rome and their differences with the Greek.

He caught a glimpse of Piper smirking at him in approval, and decided to ignore this as he remembered their talk last night.

_Flashback_

"You're going to that Roman camp?" Will looked at her in surprise. Why was he not informed of this? But then again, what right did he have to know? It's not like Nico had to share that tiny, insignificant information with him.

"Yup, Jason wanted to see how things were going there and of course there were those shrines he still had to build." Piper informed as they kept walking towards the Aphrodite cabin, "So, I decided to tag along, as well as Percy and Annabeth. And suddenly Jason suggested that Nico should come too. Those two had been really close since—." And she suddenly stopped.

Will decided not to push and spoke, "Why are you telling me this?" He was a little relieved that Nico was only _visiting_. For a moment he thought he was going to stay there. He couldn't help but remember the demigod's words awhile ago;

"_Right. I'd keep that in mind while I head back to Rome."_

"Why shouldn't I? You're his friend, aren't you?" The smirk Piper gave him seemed to tell him otherwise.

He pretty much knew that she knew what he was thinking. She was the daughter of the goddess of love after all. She apparently has this skill where she can practically read people like an open book. And she could probably tell that his feelings for a certain child of the Underworld were a little different than just _friends_.

But even _he_ was having a hard time figuring out what these feelings were.

Does he actually have feelings for Nico? Or was he just feeling like this because the kid was so small and he suddenly had this sense of over-protectiveness for him and he can't help but _care_… and look for him when he's not around and touch him and hold him and—

"Overthinking is never a good thing, Will." Piper snapped him out of his reverie, "It usually makes things more complicated."

Will shrugged one more time, though in the inside he was feeling pretty much frustrated.

She placed a hand on the troubled teen and smiled. Her multi-colored eyes seem to sparkle underneath the moonlight and Will was suddenly glad that Piper was one of those cool demigods despite being the daughter of love. Usually her siblings would be one of those giggling messes.

"Just go with the flow and eventually you'll find the answer. Trust me. It's easier that way." She grinned and the healer finds himself nodding in agreement.

"Yeah thanks."

Piper raised an eyebrow and kept staring at him as if waiting for something. He blinked and stared at her in confusion. She rolled her eyes and spoke, "So Will Solace… what do you plan on doing now?"

Then the message was clearly received as understanding dawned in his face.

_Just go with the flow._

He hesitated before finally grinning, "You don't happen to have one more seat for the road trip now, do you?"

_End of Flashback_

* * *

><p>Nico dreamed he was in a strange city. The buildings were dark and shadowy. He was surrounded by shadows that aimlessly walked around. It was as dark as night but no stars lit up the skies above. And Nico found it really creepy. But that didn't matter at the moment. He had something to do.<p>

He goes through the shadows, ignoring the shuddering cold as he passed through them and entered one of the buildings. And before he knew it everything suddenly turned bright. He shut his eyes and hissed at the light and slowly opened them.

He finds himself in front of a familiar infirmary, and hastily headed to the windows looking for someone. He saw all the Apollo children but _he _wasn't there. He turned around and suddenly he was inside the Apollo cabin. Two or three kids were inside but none of them was the person he was looking for.

He rushed out of the cabin and was suddenly by the beach looking at the sun that was setting.

He looked around, and no Will Solace to be found.

He didn't know why… but he had to find him. And every moment he kept ending up in a place where Will wasn't in, his heart would grow heavier and heavier and dread would seem to consume him. But why?

Suddenly he finds himself deep into the woods and heard an all too familiar scream.

His feet moved on its own and Nico found himself running so fast that leaves and thin branches would slap him in the face. He took a sharp turn and dark eyes widened as he immediately halted in his tracks. The first thing he saw was the huge looming back of a giant… _no_ a Cyclops.

And as if sensing him, the huge monster turned around and Nico froze. Not because of fear… but because of horror. In his hand was a certain blonde, who kept struggling against the deathly grip. He was covered in scratches and his head seemed to be bleeding.

The monster suddenly gave him an ugly grin and slowly he tightened his hold.

Nico screamed.

The sudden pain in his head woke the son of Hades up and instinctively he gripped his head and bent forward.

"OW! You really have a hard head!"

He tried to blink the stars out of his eyes as he looked up to see two pairs of blue eyes staring at him worriedly. One of the blurry figures seemed to be rubbing his head painfully and Nico realized that it was Will.

"Nico, are you alright?" Jason asked as he put a hand on his shoulder, "You were having a nightmare."

Nico blinked a couple of times and tried to look outside the window, it was dark. He paled as he remembered his dream, before immediately relaxing as he saw the stars outside.

"Nico?" He looked at Percy who was leaning forward against his seat, and saw Piper and Annabeth looking at him with worried looks as well. Their concern was apparent despite the dim light of the SUV.

"I'm fine, I'm fine… it was nothing." He blushed at the attention while unconsciously rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"You sure?" Annabeth spoke up, frowning all the while. Apparently, judging by the way her calculating gray eyes looked over him, she wanted to know what he dreamt of. Not that he could blame her curiosity, demigod dreams are often connected to important events that were mostly a warning.

And Nico really hoped it was no warning and was just one of those very strange but normal dreams.

He gulped, trying to push down the sudden urge to throw-up as he remembered when the Cyclops—

"You look green." Jason's frown deepened.

"Hold on! I think I have a remedy for that in here somewhere!" He finally got himself to look at Will who started rummaging through his backpack. He tried to assure himself that the demigod was definitely fine and okay.

"Whoa, did you bring the whole infirmary with you?" Percy exclaimed as he took a peek inside the healer's bag. Will was opening some tumblers, checking their content.

"Of course not." Will rolled his eyes as he finally took out a green tumbler and handed it to Nico who tentatively accepted it, "Just some first-aid stuff."

"Dude, you've got an injection inside their!"

"Just a precaution." He answered swiftly before zipping his bag close. He turned to Nico and nodded at him, "Drink that and you'll feel a whole lot better!"

He pulled the cover open and almost gagged at the smell. Was this really supposed to make his nausea go away?

"It's not as bad as it smells." Will insisted.

"That's what _all_ doctors say."

"Well, trust me on this."

He was about to retort but he immediately saw the smirking faces of Annabeth and Piper. He bit back the retort and reluctantly drank the strange liquid whilst glaring at the two girls.

"That must've been one horrible dream for you to make the lights around us flicker." Jason suddenly spoke up as he stopped drinking.

Will was right, it wasn't so bad, it was mostly tasteless.

He turned his attention back to the son of Jupiter and raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Piper pointed at the light above them, "While you seem to be struggling in your sleep, that light and our headlights _and_ the headlights of the cars that surrounded and passed by us started to flicker on and off. One of the cars almost crashed ours."

He looked at them in disbelief. He was about to mutter an apology but Jason interrupted him as he grabbed the tumbler from his hands and handed it back to Will.

"It doesn't matter anyway. As long as we're all fine." Jason said as he kept glancing at him, as if trying to see if anything else was wrong. Finally he asked, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Nico hesitated and couldn't help but glance at Will who looked at him with concern and confusion. He opened his mouth, about to tell him it was nothing, when suddenly the car veered sharply to the right— off to the road and everyone screamed in surprise.

He looked up to see Argus stepping hard on the breaks and finally, they managed to stop as the SUV titled sideways, about to fall, before gaining momentum and landing back on the ground.

Percy had shielded the girls and Jason seemed to have landed on Percy's seat, sprawled awkwardly… and Nico was suddenly very aware of a body on top of him. He looked up to see Will, who had his eyes shut tightly and his arms pressed protectively at his sides. He still had the decency to blush despite the situation.

Immediately he pushed Will off, who yelped in surprise and quickly asked everyone, "Is anyone hurt?!"

Jason groaned and pushed himself up. Percy did the same and Nico watched in relief as the two girls moved to sit up. Though it was dark, it was good to know everyone was alright.

"Argus?" Percy groaned while looking at the driver, "What happened?"

He knew it was stupid for Percy to ask, especially since Argus couldn't speak, but who else were they supposed to ask? Suddenly, Argus frantically unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, anxiously pointing outside.

_GET OUT! NOW!_

They didn't need to be told twice as they hastily headed out of the SUV, in time to hear a howl. Nico's dark eyes grew wide as he recognized the howl. He looked around only to find an empty road surrounded by nothing but trees. This was definitely not good.

"We need to get out of here." Percy spoke as he took out his pen.

There were growls from behind them and they all turned to look at the trees. And immediately they saw glowing red eyes from behind them. Annabeth gasped as she unsheathed her dagger, "Those are hellhounds."

"What are they doing here?"

"They're not under my father's orders." Nico spoke as he backed up, the others did the same, "They're rouge hellhounds. Probably leftovers from the war."

"Can't you order them to calm down?" Jason asked, his eyes never leaving the monsters that were slowly advancing towards them.

"I-I can't." Nico tried to command them through his mind, only to be rebounded. He could sense their hunger and desperation for food as they continued moving towards them.

They must've smelled them which shouldn't have been a surprise especially since the big three's kids were gathered. He scowled and an idea formed in his mind. But it was definitely not good.

"Where are we?" He then asked as he gripped his sword.

"Most probably in Cleveland…" Annabeth automatically responded, her gray eyes flashed as she turned to him. She obviously found out what he was thinking, so he had no idea why she still bothered to ask, "Why?"

He bit his lip and grabbed Jason's hand, "Everybody, hold hands. _Now_."

"What?"

Will's eyes widened as he turned to him. He obviously found out what he was thinking too, "Nico, don't you dare—"

Fortunately for Will, no one had the time to react when the hellhounds took that moment to pounce and attack them. Jason quickly unsheathed his _gladius _and held it up just in time to shield himself from the razor sharp teeth.

Many more came out and they soon realized there were too many of them.

Nico held out his hands to the pack of hellhounds running towards him and forced the ground beneath them to crack open. He watched as the monsters fell through the holes while some tried to claw their way back up only for the ground to give away, causing them to fall back into the underworld.

He shut his eyes and willed the cracks to shut before he hastily unsheathed his dark blade to slash at the nearby hellhound that managed to escape him.

"_Stay!" _Piper's voice magnified throughout the forest and it took all of Nico's will to not actually stand still as the hell hound in front of him almost cut off his head. It only worked for a few seconds as the hellhounds growled in confusion, but it was enough time for him to stab and kill it.

He looked around just in time to see Will running away from one of the hell hounds and Nico sinks into the darkness. He emerged in front of the monsters that had been chasing Will and slashed at them as they halted in surprise.

Will looked around, shocked as the hellhounds melt into shadows, before scowling at Nico, "What did I tell you about shadow-travelling?"

"That's not the issue right now Solace." He scowled back.

Will grabbed his arm, "Look Nico, I know about your plan—transporting us to that Camp. I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Yeah, well you've got better ideas?" Nico pulled his arm from him.

"You might start fading again! It's like two-thousand miles from here—"

"I managed to transport myself to China last time."

"But there are seven of us! And you're not fully-recovered yet!"

"It's the only chance we've got!" Nico snapped and he couldn't hold back the next words that came out, "It's bad enough that _you_ don't know how to fight!"

Hurt flashed in Will's face, and the son of Hades immediately regretted what he said. He wanted to apologize but a pained yelp from afar immediately reminded him that they were in a middle of a battle. So he handed Will his most precious sword and spoke, "As soon as we get the chance, we regroup and get the heck out of here, got it?"

He did not wait for his respond as he quickly sunk into the shadows. He emerged behind Annabeth who almost maimed him with her dagger, "Gods! Don't do that!"

Nico stared at the long gash across her face and winced.

"I've been through worse." She spoke as if reading his mind. Her eyes then widened and immediately she yelled, "Duck!"

Nico did as he was told and Annabeth stabbed the monster at the stomach as it was in mid-pounce and immediately melted into shadows. He then summoned some skeletons and ordered them to attack the other hellhounds heading their way. He really didn't want to know how these people died in this area, but obviously, anywhere you go, there would always be buried skeletons beneath.

"You shouldn't be using your powers too much if you're planning to have us jump all the way to Camp Jupiter." Annabeth frowned.

"I don't really have much choice."

Before the other could respond her eyes widened as she saw from afar a certain demigod on the ground, trying to push back the hellhound that was trying to get a bite off his face, his sword, lying from afar.

"PERCY!"

Nico found himself sinking into the shadows once more before emerging next to Percy's fallen sword. He grabbed the weapon and shadow-travelled to where Percy was and stabbed the hell-hound at the back. There was a pained whimper and just like the other monsters, the hell hound melted into the shadows.

"Percy!" Annabeth knelt beside him.

Percy pushed himself off the ground coughing, "Man, those things have nasty breaths!" He told her.

He suddenly frowned as he turned to stare at him, "You okay? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine." He said through gritted teeth. Obviously, using his powers were starting to take a toll on him. Not to mention he had not eaten much for the day.

"You sure—?"

"I need a distraction." Nico spoke, "At least enough time for us to regroup. I'm getting us out of here."

"You mean shadow-travel?" Percy frowned while exchanging looks with Annabeth, and Nico couldn't help but wonder how many people had Coach Hedge shared about his Underworld-y problem. Great, now he was starting to sound like Will.

"Just do it."

Percy's frown deepened but he nodded his head either way.

Nico handed his sword back to him before running off to help the others. He also had to let Jason and Piper know about the plan.

No sooner did the ground start shaking just as he finished telling the two, and before he knew it, water rushed out of the ground sending the remaining hell hounds flying towards the forest.

"QUICK! GRAB HANDS NOW!" Nico looked around, trying to find Will. As soon as he found him, he ran towards him and grabbed his wrist (seeing that he was still holding his sword). They quickly ran towards the others and started regrouping.

Meanwhile, Argus hit a hellhound that managed to avoid the geyser with his club before heading towards them.

Everyone had grabbed hands by then. Nico was still holding Will's wrist( who looked very reluctant at this) and grabbed Annabeth, and started concentrating his thoughts to Camp Jupiter.

Will turned to Argus and held out his hand, "Come on!"

There came more howling, and more hellhounds came pouring out. Nico couldn't help but wonder how many more monsters out there managed to survive the war.

"Nico!" Piper screamed.

The son of Hades snapped out of his thoughts and they started to sink into the shadows, about to shadow-travel— when everything went wrong.

As Argus was inches away from grabbing Will's hand, a hell hound tackled their body-guard, sending him flying away. And before Nico could react, Will had pulled his hand from his grip and ran towards Argus screaming his name.

He watched in horror as the healer ran farther and before he could do anything, they had all melted in the shadows and everything went black. The last thing he saw was Will putting his fingers in his mouth before whistling so loudly that it reached through the shadow realm.

_**End of Chapter**_

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><p><em><strong>Reviews? :)<br>**_


	3. Just a Healer not a Fighter

_**I definitely appreciated the long review! (you know who you are) And thanks a lot! I hope you and the other readers would enjoy this new chapter!**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 3<strong>_

This was one of the reasons why Will Solace never liked fighting. After managing to distract all the hell-hounds with his ear-splitting whistle, he slashed and hacked his way through the monsters before finally reaching Argus. The guy was on the ground, barely conscious. There were slash marks across his chest, but other than that he was okay.

He looked back up to the monsters and they growled at him. He held up Nico's sword with trembling hands and pointed it to them. Some backed away as if threatened by the sword. They should be, Will had seen how the weapon would suck their essence as Nico would stab them with it.

Which was a little creepy…

Another growl resonated and before Will knew it, the monsters turned and ran off.

Stunned he watched them blend into the shadows and disappear.

"Y-Yeah! You better run!" He exclaimed lamely.

He sighed and dropped to the ground. All adrenaline rushing out and he turned to look at the spot where his friends had disappeared. He knew Nico would've come back for him… if he _could_. But he hasn't. Which only meant that the shadow-travel had taken its toll on his body.

Definitely not good.

He stood up again, with the sword gripped tightly in his hand. He had to get back to Nico as soon as possible. He had to make sure he was okay. That was the reason why he wanted to go with him in the first place. To make sure that when in need, he'll be there for the ghost boy.

He hastily turned around at the sudden movement he heard behind him. Argus was trying to stand up, all of his eyes were shut in pain.

Will was immediately on his side, pushing him up to his feet, "Come on, let's go back to the SUV. If we're lucky my bag would still be in one piece. And if we're luckier… so is the van."

* * *

><p>There was a lot of movement around him. He could hear some shuffling and voices barking out orders. Nico tried to remember where he was and what had happened, and suddenly everything came crashing down.<p>

_Will._

His eyes snapped open and he quickly pushed himself off the bed he was lying on. There was a yelp and suddenly Nico was being held back. He scowled and struggled, "Let go!"

"You have to rest right now!" The demigod, apparently a medic, exclaimed as he tried to push him down along with other more healers, "You're in no condition—"

But Nico didn't bother to listen as he willed the shadows to surround him. All the hands immediately let go in surprise and the son of Hades quickly let himself be consumed by the darkness.

Once he opened his eyes, he realized he was crouched on top of a wooden table.

Before he could register where he was, he heard gasps and he looked up only to see his friends.

Reyna and Frank had stood up from their high-black chairs, and his sister along with his friends surrounded the table he was crouching on. They looked like they were in a middle of a discussion, which was obviously interrupted by him.

The first thing that came into his mind was that he was definitely glad that he was still wearing his clothes from earlier, except for his hooded-jacket that the healers must've taken off. He always had experiences of waking up only to find himself stripped down to his boxers.

"Nico!" Hazel was quickly on his side, trying to help him down on the table.

"Are you alright?"

"Dude, you just appeared out of nowhere!"

"Nico, weren't you supposed to be in the infirmary?"

"Did you shadow-travel again?"

Nico scowled at all the questions, "I'm fine! Where's Will?"

Then there was silence. The son of Hades already knew the answer but he was hoping that they had at least tried to retrieve the healer while he was out. Seeing that they didn't, he decided to ask another question,

"How long have I been out?"

He immediately noticed the tired looks on their faces as well as the scratches and closed wounds that decorated their body.

"Not too long." Piper bit her lower lip, "We've only arrived about half an hour ago."

Nico nodded his head. Good. He can still make it back to Cleveland and hopefully, Will and Argus would still be in one piece. He was about to walk out when Jason put a hand on his shoulder, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going back to get them. Isn't that obvious?"

Reyna approached him with a deep frown on her face. She snapped her fingers and Argentum and Aurum blocked the only exit Nico had. Fine. He'll just shadow-travel his way out.

"Oh no you're not." Piper spoke up, her voice filled with charm speak, "You are tired, Nico. And you have no energy to make that huge jump again."

And exhaustion suddenly came down on him so hard he almost stumbled to the ground and blacked out, but Percy was quick to grab him.

"You can't do this." He said through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry." Piper said in a stern manner.

"Nico, please. Get some rest first. Let the healers take care of you. You're no good like this." Hazel spoke up, her face was filled with pain seeing him like this.

"We practically found you and your friends in the middle of camp." Reyna crossed her arms, "Fortunately your friends only suffered minor injuries. But you, on the other hand, were completely knocked out, not to mention the amount of darkness that you had expelled caused cracks on the ground you were lying on. Have you not learned from our travels?"

"I'm fine!" Nico repeated once more, although he seemed to shrink from the glare Reyna was directing to him, "Just let me—"

"No." Reyna scowled, looking very intimidating, "I'm sorry Nico, but if you don't follow orders right now, I will forcibly have you restrained and locked up."

There was a moment of silence as Nico didn't respond. Reyna sighed and continued, "We'll go and find Will Solace and Argus tomorrow morning—as soon as possible. But for now you need rest." She then gestured to the others, "We _all_ need rest."

"Nico—" Jason was about to put a hand on his shoulder, but he only dodged him and pulled away from Percy's grip. He was angry at them because he thought they would understand. He thought they would understand what it felt like to have someone they care about to be in danger—especially if that someone was—

His bit his tongue at the sudden thought and quickly shook his head.

"No—" Piper started as she seemed to have found out what he was about to do. Unfortunately, she was too late as Nico swiftly sunk into the shadows once more, and the last thing he heard was everyone practically calling out his name.

* * *

><p>Will winced as he saw the crushed SUV. He helped Argus sit under a nearby tree and quickly ran towards it. He crept inside the damaged vehicle and accidentally hit his head against the roof that had caved in. He crawled across the seats, trying to reach the back seat. He tried to squint through the darkness before finally finding what he was trying to look for.<p>

He reached over and grabbed his backpack. He was greatly relieved to find all the items were still in one piece. He was about to go back out when he saw another bag lying under the back seat. With great difficulty he grabbed the item and pulled it out.

He soon realized it was Nico's and before he knew it, he brought it with him as well as he walked out.

"How you feeling?" Will smiled at Argus as he knelt down in front of him and took out some ambrosia, bandages, antiseptic and a candy bar (he really needed some food). The other just shut his eyes and shuddered.

"That bad, huh?" He started cleaning the slashes across his chest, swabbing the injury while making sure that the bleeding had stopped. He gives him a piece of ambrosia as big as his candy bar (seeing that the dude was a big guy and that he wasn't a demigod, he probably won't burn up) and continued working on his injury.

Another shudder made him halt his ministrations and look up.

"You cold?" Immediately, he starts rummaging through his pack before taking out his jacket, "Here!"

Argus looked like he didn't want it as he gave Will a look that seemed to say; _What about you?_

"I'll be fine. It's not that cold."

Argus didn't look like he still believed him, but the healer merely rolled his eyes and draped the jacket over his large shoulders. "I would make a fire… but I'm afraid that other monsters might find us and ambush us."

After a couple more minutes, he finished wrapping the bandage around the big guy's torso and gave him one last check-up before finally deeming he was okay. If they were lucky— by sunrise, the wound would've closed up enough for them to be able to hit the road once more and be able to hitch a ride.

He collapsed beside him and started unwrapping his candy bar.

Silence stretched between them, and Will couldn't help but wish that Argus would talk. It was just too silent. He wasn't used to it.

_You talk too much, Solace._

He couldn't hold back the smile that formed as Nico's words from his second day in the infirmary echoed in his mind. He shut his eyes as he remembered the annoyed look the son of Hades (who was on one of the beds, leaning against the headboard with a novel in his hand) was giving him.

_Yeah, well someone has to fill this awkward silence between us. _He had retorted.

_You're the only one that's making it awkward. _Cue the eye-roll.

_It only got awkward because you won't answer or make any comments when I tell you my awesome stories! _He had actually pouted at this. He remembered how Nico's lips twitched as he looked at him, but didn't answer as he stared back at his book.

He remembered feeling a little disappointed and stupid for acting like a kid who seemed to always want everyone's (mostly Nico's) attention centered towards him.

And just as he was about to decide to just leave and check on the other patients, Nico suddenly spoke up.

_Don't stop._ He looked up at Nico who now had his face buried in his book, and he was suddenly aware that the cover was upside-down. He also noticed how the other's neck and ears seemed to be turning red.

_I don't mind listening._

The sudden cold he felt snapped him out from his reverie. He automatically wrapped his arms around himself and turned to look at Argus, who in turn was staring at him with a frown. He looked like he was ready to give him back his jacket, but Will quickly shook his head.

"You need it more than I do." He grabbed his bag and hoped he had brought an extra jacket, "Don't worry." He assured when the bodyguard gave him a disbelieving look.

Finding no jacket he sighed. Then he remembered the others' bags. Maybe he could borrow Jason's instead. Surely the blonde had at least brought a jacket or even Percy. He quickly stood up, about to head back to the broken vehicle when he tripped on something.

"OW!"

He rubbed his nose as he practically face-planted on the ground. He looked back to check what he tripped on and realized it was Nico's bag. He forgot he brought it with him. He sat up and looked at it as if it were a ticking time bomb. He hesitated before grabbing it and unzipping the pack.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the messy clothes inside. He grabbed the clothing that was sticking out and was surprised as he pulled out a black jacket.

A cold breeze swept by and Will quickly put the jacket on. For some reason he felt a little conscious to be wearing Nico's clothes… but inexplicably happy at the same time. It was a little tight around his arms, but other than that, it fit him just fine.

He looked at Argus who seemed to be looking at him with a raised eyebrow. His face suddenly heat up as he asked, "_What_?"

He seemed to be smirking now and he couldn't help but feel a little more flustered, "G-go to sleep already! We still have a long way to go."

He only got a snort as a reply.

"Fine. I'll do the sleeping then." He scowled as Argus just gave him a deadpanned look before he buried himself further against the tree he was leaning on while pulling the jacket closer around his body.

It took him all his will not to sniff on the material and forced his eyes close. He couldn't help but wonder what Nico's expression would be if they meet up. For sure there would be a scowl and—

"_It's bad enough that _you_ don't know how to fight!"_

He found himself opening his eyes in surprise and anger. He almost forgot about that. Then the hurt suddenly made itself painfully aware as he scowled. How could Nico say that to him? It wasn't his fault that he had solely focused his skills into healing rather than maiming people. He had saved a lot of lives choosing such a decision.

He gripped the jacket and was almost tempted to take it off when—

_Crack!_

He and Argus sat up at the sudden sound. Will turned to Argus who looked at him as well. The many-eyed bodyguard was about to stand up, obviously wanting to check it out, but Will held up a hand, stopping him.

"Don't." He picked up Nico's sword, "I'll go check it out. I'll be right back as soon as possible."

Argus looked like he was ready to put up a fight, but Will gave him a stern look, "Don't make me use my tranquilizer on you."

Unfortunately, the threat didn't seem to have worked as he soon found himself tied to a tree. "This was brand new!" He practically complained at his jacket that was used as the rope to tie him against the tree. Argus huffed before reaching up the tree and pulling off a thick looking branch.

He gave him one last look that seemed to say: _Don't go anywhere._

And he had to roll his eyes at that. He watched as Argus went deeper into the woods and he tried to struggle against his binds, "Argus—! _Come on_!"

Finally, his companion disappeared through the darkness and he kept his eyes wide and ears open for any howling from the hellhounds. More silence surrounded him and Argus still didn't appear. He struggled harder against his binds as he started to feel panicked.

"Argus! _ARGUS!_"

His voice echoed uselessly throughout the woods and Will knew something was wrong here. He looked down and spotted a certain black sword and quickly tried to reach it with his foot. He managed to shorten the distance between him and the sword and was just about to plan on how he'd be able to pick it up when he heard heavy footsteps heading towards him.

He froze.

This was definitely not Argus.

The trees suddenly fell to the ground and one of them smashed the SUV from afar. A huge dark form—probably about ten feet tall— slowly emerged from the forest before him and he immediately knew he was dead.

He couldn't help but stare at the single eye in the center of its forehead and gulped.

The Cyclopes grinned at him, his teeth were crooked and yellow and Will definitely didn't want to get a whiff of his breath,

"Finally, _dinner_!"

* * *

><p>Nico wasn't surprised that Hazel found him sitting on the roof of Pluto's shrine, eating some bread he had bought from the bakery. He heard a sigh of relief followed by footsteps approaching him.<p>

"You do know you made everyone panic?"

"They should be." He couldn't help but retort bitterly.

He felt Hazel settle next to him and he turned to look at his sister who commented, "I see you're really hungry."

He brought his attention back to the bread he was eating, "Aren't you going to tell them where I am?"

"I would, but I'm afraid once I leave to alert them, you'd be gone." She sighed, "I know you enough to know you would do that."

His only reply was taking another bite from his food.

"You're really planning to get them back aren't you?"

"I'm shocked you guys aren't."

"We are. Actually, after you guys had been transported here, Percy and Piper immediately told us about Will and Argus." Hazel smirked, "And as we speak, Leila and Dakota along with Reyna are now on their way to get them. She told us to find you before heading off. She knew you would just be around camp."

"What?!" Nico turned to look at her in shock, "Then what was all that "tomorrow morning stuff" about? Why didn't she tell me—"

"Because you really needed your rest!" Hazel huffed as she looked at him disapprovingly, "You practically freaked her out when she saw your state. She seemed to have encountered this problem before and apparently, if that scared her, then we all have the reason to be scared about it too."

The son of Hades scowled as he practically ripped the bread off as he took another bite.

"And also because she knew you would try and go with them." Hazel continued before picking up a gem.

He didn't speak, making her sigh and change the topic, "Tell me about this Will Solace."

He almost dropped his bread at the sudden request and he tried to hold back the sudden urge to blush, "Why'd you suddenly ask?"

Hazel almost looked amused, "Because you may be worried for both him and Argus, but I'm pretty sure it's mostly because of him." She raised an eyebrow as she added, "I mean you wouldn't have said _'Where's Will?'_ if not, am I right?"

His face was practically on fire now and he quickly looked away. He did not dare answer her sister who continued prodding him about the healer as he kept eating the remaining food he still had.

"Just tell me. _Please_? Do you like—"

"NO!" He answered a little too quickly and he couldn't help but curse in Greek. Hazel had gone silent. He turned away from her, unsure of what to actually say. More silence settled between them and Nico knew she was still waiting for him to speak.

He pulled his legs to his chest and rested his chin on his knees, he tried to keep his face neutral as he carefully spoke, "He's just… a friend."

"_And_?"

Nico wasn't stupid. He was very much aware of his feelings for the son of Apollo and would only reject them when needed to. He had learned his lesson when it came to expecting and how hard and painful it will be when he finds out that what he had been expecting was just nothing but his usual pathetic illusions of finding happiness.

So he looked at Hazel with steely dark eyes and spoke,

"And I want to save him."

He tried to emphasize the finality of his words. Letting her know that no matter what she say or what she do, he would shadow travel back to Cleveland, get the annoyingly stupid son of Apollo (and Argus too of course) and transport him back to Camp Jupiter, where he can be safer.

He didn't care if he would have to fight Jason and Percy for it.

The hand on his arm snapped him out of his reverie. Hazel's expression was soft but her eyes were as stern as his, and for a moment Nico thought she was going to actually fight him when she spoke, "I'm coming with you."

He stood up and stared at her in shock, "Wha—No! You can't!"

Hazel also stood up as she crossed her arms stubbornly, "You either let me come with you or I'll have to use my magic to stop you."

Nico groaned as he rubbed a hand over his face. This wasn't what he was definitely expecting.

"Let me go with you." Hazel insisted, "For starters I'd be able to help with your shadow-travel. It would be easier for you to get to Cleveland and there's a higher chance that you'd land on the exact spot you left."

True, when shadow-travelling with her sister, it was definitely easier to get to the place he wanted to go. Somehow, he would land to exactly where he wanted to be and frankly, he wasn't sure if he would actually end up directly in Cleveland with his state.

"Alright." He gave in, and he watched as her sister grinned at him. He let a small smile escape before finally walking off, "Come on. We don't have much time to lose."

"W-wait, you just ate!" Hazel tried to follow after him, "Shouldn't you at least wait for five minutes?"

* * *

><p>"I thought we had a deal." Nico scowled as he looked at his sister then back to Frank, who stiffened when he turned to him.<p>

"You always need three people to go on a quest." Hazel pointed out as she rummaged through her room, getting the stuff she needed before they leave.

"This _isn't_ a quest."

"Come on Nico," Hazel said in exasperation, "We both know we need back-up. Percy told me about the hellhounds you faced."

"I promise I won't be in your way." Frank spoke up.

Nico wanted to make a retort (What? He was in a bad mood.), but Hazel shot him a warning look, "You won't be." She assured her boyfriend who gave her an uneasy smile. Nico appreciated though, that despite the change of appearance, Frank Zang was still the same kid he met back then. Many people often change a lot, and sometimes, it was always for the worst.

Like him.

"Alright, I'm good to go." Hazel grabbed her sword and shouldered her bag. Then she looked over to her brother as if finally noticing something as she frowned,

"Where's your sword?"

At the same time, Frank asked, "Are you sure we shouldn't tell the others?"

And Nico grabbed both their hands as his patience finally reached its limit.

"There's no time."

Before the couple could react, Nico surrounded them in shadows.

* * *

><p>As soon as he opened his eyes, he was relieved to find himself in Cleveland. Beside him, Hazel and Frank looked a little surprise and wary. He looked around the abandoned road and noticed the pavement was still wet from Percy's little distraction.<p>

"Where are they?" Frank asked as he scanned the area as well. He kept looking down at the huge claw marks on the ground. Hazel had headed towards the direction where Nico last saw Will and picked something up.

"Is this a club?" She asked as she carried it with great difficulty.

"That's Argus'…" Nico said through gritted teeth. He was starting to feel a slight exhaustion and the extra stress was not helping him at all. Will and Argus should be nearby, but he knew better.

They had waited for too long. Who knows what had happened to them already. Nico shook his head, trying not to think about it.

"Come on! This way!" He then said as he spotted the SUV through the thick trees. How did that end up there?

They quickly followed him as they saw the vehicle as well.

As they got nearer, he realized the vehicle was a wreck. He was about to check inside if the two were there—when Hazel called.

"Nico! Over here!"

Hazel seemed to be holding up a torn clothing and Frank was rummaging through what seemed like a backpack. He then went pale as he recognized the clothing in his sister's hands. He had seen that jacket being worn during camp fire nights as well as those times in the infirmary when a certain demigod would visit him from his cabin in the middle of the night, just to check up on him if he was doing alright.

"Will…"

He didn't have to look at the bag Frank was rummaging through to know that it was Will's as well. His dark eyes then landed to another bag from afar and recognized it as his. He quickly ran for it and almost tripped as he hastily knelt down to look inside its content. He took out the clothes he had stuffed in and tried to check the pockets.

"Frank! Get all the ambrosia in that bag. We might need them!" He took out a squashed ambrosia from the pockets of his clothes. He always had this habit of stuffing those pieces of godly food in his pocket just in case, and would often forget that they were still in there (which sometimes got him a laundry full of ants).

He turned to look at Frank stuffing _a lot _of ambrosia in his own bag and Nico couldn't help but roll his eyes. _Percy was right, he must have brought the whole infirmary with him_.

"Come on, let's go." He started running through the forest without waiting to see if they were following.

"Nico! Wait up!"

He looked back about to yell to them to speed up when he suddenly tripped on something big and landed painfully on the ground. His head hit a thick branch lying on the forest floor and his vision was immediately filled with stars. Just what did he trip on?

"Nico!" He heard his sister getting closer. He was about to tell her he was fine when a horrified gasp interrupted him. He tried to blink the blurriness away and pushed himself up. He looked down to his feet and felt the air around him drop into freezing.

"I-is that…?" Frank's eyes were wide as he stared at the body on the ground.

The eyes all over the body were shut and the person was suspiciously still. The bandage around his torso was stained in red and he seemed to have broken an arm. Nico didn't know if he was alive or not— the dread and panic he felt made it hard for him to use his death radar.

"Argus…"

He looked around towards the deeper part of the forest before finally noticing how most of the trees were all on the ground… almost like they had been pushed by giants. The air around him grew colder and colder that his breath could be seen now. Fear ran through him for the first time in a long time as a certain dream resurfaced in his mind;

A certain demigod struggling in a death grip… and a Cyclopes, grinning at him manically.

Will Solace was in grave danger.

_**End of Chapter**_

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><p><strong>Reviews and thoughts are highly appreciated.<strong>


	4. The Damsel protects the Hero

**Okay, so now I finally have internet access! YEESSS!**

**And I just realized I didn't put this story in the Nico/Will category xDD**

**ENJOOY!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 4<strong>_

"He's alive." Hazel said as she turned to Nico. This relieved the son of Hades greatly.

Frank handed Hazel a canteen of nectar and ambrosia while Nico stood up to look around the forest.

"Hazel." He started, making his sister look up at him questioningly, "I have to find Will."

Gold eyes widened in surprise, "What? No! Nico, it's too dangerous!"

"You know I have to." He frowned. He was trying to hide his worry as much as possible, and it was actually taking him all his will to not bolt away to find the blonde, "You and Frank stay here and take care of Argus. I'll be right back."

"No! Wait!" Hazel turned to Frank who had been silent, "Frank, you go with him."

Now it was Frank's turn to look surprise, "H-huh? But—"

"No. It's too dangerous for you to be alone." The son of Hades scowled, "He stays here."

"Nico, you're going in that forest to find the one who did this to Argus, _alone_ and _weaponless_." Hazel stubbornly said, her gaze never leaving his, "I'll be fine on my own. I can use the mist to protect Argus and me if that monster ever comes back."

They continued their staring contest for half a minute before Nico finally decided to look away.

"I already know what it is." He spoke, making them look at him in surprise. He then told them about the dream he had during their ride towards Camp Jupiter, of course leaving out the part where he was looking for Will.

"A Cyclops? A-are you sure?" Hazel looked worried but at the same time relieved that it wasn't anything bigger and more dangerous as the ones they faced during the war.

"Yeah. And I have to go now before he eats that idiot." And just as he was about to run off, Frank stops him.

"I'm coming with you." He quickly glared at the praetor, but the other did not waver nor did he back down.

"I'm confident Hazel can handle herself." This earned him a smile from the girl and Nico had to hold himself back from rolling his eyes. Of all times they had to act all lovey-dovey.

"And you think I can't?" He challenged as he raised an eyebrow.

Frank shrugged, "You _are _weaponless. And I can tell you're still winded from our shadow-travel."

He couldn't help but growl, "Fine." He then pointed at him threateningly, "Don't hold me back, Zhang."

Frank nodded his head before turning to look at Hazel with a gulp.

Nico looked at Argus' unconscious form when an idea suddenly formed in his mind, "Before that. I think I'm going to sleep first."

The couple looked at him in surprise. Not expecting the sudden thought, they exchanged looksS.

"Weren't you in a hurry a while ago?"

Nico sighed as he assured, "It won't take long." He settled himself on the ground, "Just a little notice I need to send."

And with that he curled up and fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>He dreamed he was back in camp half-blood, sitting by the arena watching his siblings practice their archery skills. Will never bothered practicing, seeing that he really wasn't going to improve any time soon.<em>

_He stretched his limbs, feeling a little bored before standing up._

_He called out to his siblings telling them he had to go somewhere. He did not wait for any reply and walked off._

_He suddenly found himself by the beach, looking at the beautiful horizon. He felt the breeze caress his face and he was suddenly surprised to find a hand insert itself in his own. He looked to the side and was even more surprised to see a certain child of Hades._

_He was blushing really bad, making Will blush himself. And for some reason he couldn't stop his fingers from curling around the cold hand of Nico di Angelo._

"_**Stay where you are." **__Dark eyes suddenly met his, and the blush had now disappeared, instead—fear and worry now decorated his features, __**"I'm coming for you."**_

_And before Will could even ask, Nico dissolves away along with the camp._

_Suddenly he was in a different place. He was in a room with polished marble floors and walls draped in velvets. He tried to look around since he couldn't help but be amazed at the banners and wooden poles—_

"_Have you found him yet?" He turned around and was surprised to find Jason leaning against the long wooden table found in the center of the room. Piper and Annabeth had entered, and both shook their head miserably._

"_Where's Hazel and Frank anyway?" Percy walked up behind the blonde, "I haven't heard nor seen them for a while now."_

"_Maybe they already found Nico." Piper spoke up, trying to sound optimistic, but doubt seemed to linger in her multi-colored eyes._

_Suddenly he felt an electric shot ran through him as her words sunk in his mind. Nico was missing?_

_The room then dissolved along with Jason and the others and he was suddenly in the middle of a forest. It was dark and only the stars from above gave him the light to see. And somehow, something about the place was familiar._

_He heard rushed footsteps from behind him and quickly turned around._

_Two figures rushed past him and Will didn't even get the chance to see who they were. Then suddenly one of them stopped and turned to him. He stiffened before immediately relaxing when he saw the familiar face of Nico. Then he frowned as he noticed his exhaustion._

"_**I'm almost there." **__He said, trying to sound re-assuring for some reason, __**"Just stay alive."**_

"_Nico!" And as Nico turned around, everything dissolved into black._

His head throbbed in pain and he could feel the blood trickle down the side of his face as he slowly rose to consciousness. He wondered if he was suffering a concussion as he seemed to be dangling on a pot of boiling water.

He could hear a small humming and his eyes snapped open as he remembered everything that happened.

The Cyclops emerging from the forest.

The panic and fear he felt for Argus.

His attempt to grab the black sword only to be pulled off from the tree…

…and getting knocked out as he accidentally hit a high branch.

He suddenly felt pathetic realizing he didn't even put up a fight. Really… _really _pathetic. His sight then met the obnoxious grin of the Cyclops. He seemed to be in the middle of putting weird ingredients in the pot.

Said ingredients mostly involved dead animals.

Will's stomach churned and his head throbbed even more. He was starting to consider becoming a vegetarian.

"Good! Dinner is awake! Always taste better when awake and screaming!" The Cyclops exclaimed cheerfully.

"Look… uh… you really don't want me for dinner." Will said as he struggled against his binds, "I taste awful I might even give you stomach cramps!"

"Stomach cramps I can handle." He said eagerly.

"And you'll have hyper-acidity! I'm too acidic— your system won't be able to take it—WHOA!" The Cyclops suddenly grabbed him and pulled him from the branch he had been tied to. He caught a glimpse of Nico's sword next to a tree and felt this hope that he might actually be able to defeat this monster. If he finds a way to escape that is…

The monster was now frowning and glaring at the sun of Apollo disapprovingly, "Dinner talks too much."

Nico's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

_**Just stay alive.**_

"Uhh yeah! That's high-quality meat for you." He said as cheerful as possible, trying to sound like those sales people, "If they keep talking they're the juicy-yummy kind of meat you would definitely like!"

The Cyclops raised an eyebrow at this, "I thought dinner gives stomach cramps."

"Uhh… yeah! I _will_ give you stomach cramps—if you don't cook me in a proper way with the proper ingredients." He tried to wiggle his eyebrows, "You see, fresh meat like me cannot just be eaten in such a poor quality mixture as that." He tilted his head to the boiling pot nearby to emphasize his point.

"Mixture no good?" The Cyclops seemed to frown at this.

"Nope. Sorry big guy." He tried to sound really sorry so that he wouldn't be too obvious, "But I can tell you what ingredients you _can_ use. Just a bit of vegetables here and there, not too far or too hard to find."

The monster seemed to contemplate this when he tilted his head and spoke, "I'm used to stomach cramps. Procedure will take too long." The healer yelped as he was suddenly positioned over the pot as if ready to dump him in it. Will shut his eyes as he waited for the inevitable –when the Cyclops halted.

He suddenly started sniffing the air and Will could feel himself sweat as the hot smoke surrounded him. Then he was face-to-face with the Cyclops who grinned at him widely.

"More dinner!"

* * *

><p>"Who were you talking to?" Nico was surprised at the sudden question. He spared a quick glance to Frank before looking back ahead as they ran through the forest. They had been following the trail of broken trees, hoping to find the Cyclops.<p>

"It's nothing you should be concerned about."

"Just curious…" Frank muttered.

Nico rolled his eyes. And just as he thought that the other was finished, he suddenly asked, "Where'd your sword go?"

He sighed deeply, "I gave it to the guy we're trying to save." He grumbled, "And I just hope he didn't manage to damage it."

Frank looked at him in surprise and he was about to open his mouth to say something else when he noticed something else.

"Look!" He pointed at the smoke that rose from the trees afar, the familiar glow of the fire lit the area and Nico immediately headed towards it with the son of Mars yelling for him to wait.

He halted at a nearby tree and leaned against it. He tilted his head, trying to catch a peek but he only managed to see a portion of what looked like a huge black pot. He felt Frank stop beside him, panting really hard.

"I don't know if the Cyclops is around—"

_AAAAAAAHHH!_

A sudden current ran through his spine as he heard a familiar scream. His eyes widened significantly and he took in a sharp breath. He felt his companion stiffen beside him.

_NOOOO! STOP! STOP!_

His nightmare resurfaced as he heard the pained voice of Will Solace, and that got him running towards the encampment, hoping he wasn't too late.

"NO-!" Frank tried to hold him back but he pulled free. He had to save the son of Apollo.

But… what he saw made him freeze. Will Solace (totally fine) was tied to a tree—his pale blue eyes wide and frantic, and his mouth was gagged by a cloth.

_It was a trap._

"LOOK OUT!" Then he was suddenly tackled to the ground and he turned just in time to see Frank fly away and slam hard against a tree. He didn't even have the time to call out to the demigod when a huge club was inches away from hitting him.

He rolled away just in time to avoid the second swing and quickly sunk into the shadows before the Cyclops even got the chance to raise his weapon. He appeared behind the confused monster and with a loud scream he summoned all the undead warriors he could.

Immediately, the zombies slashed at the Cyclopes, but this was immediately parried with his club. He swung at them and effortlessly had them slammed to the ground. But more of the undead came rushing towards the huge monster.

The son of Hades panted in exhaustion and just as he was going to check around for Will and Frank, he spots his sword. He quickly ran for it and wasted no time to grab it. He then turned to the blonde who was still struggling against his binds and ran towards him.

He almost reached the other but then his feet suddenly left the ground as a hand wrapped itself around his torso. He yelped as his sword fell from his grasp and almost impaled Will's foot from below.

He soon came face-to-face with the Cyclops who was looking at him as if he were an all-you-can-eat buffet, "You smell different!" He grinned too widely and Nico couldn't help but curse as he saw his defeated zombies, "I shall eat you now!"

He vaguely heard the muffled scream of Will behind him when suddenly the Cyclops let go of him. He tried to land on his feet, but pain flared up on his right ankle and he fell on the ground with a grunt. He looked up in time to see a _huge _elephant tackling the Cyclops as hard as he can to the ground.

Pain shot through his right ankle when he tried to stand up to help Frank.

_Of all times! _He growled and quickly tried to check on his injury. Fortunately, it was only a sprain.

Frank was now trying to push the Cyclops down, but the Cyclops kept his balance, trying to flip the demigod to his back. And Nico could tell he was in the verge of doing just that. So he quickly thrust both hands out and concentrated as the ground beneath the monster cracked.

His hands trembled at the exertion and sweat trickled down at the side of his face. He wondered if he could make the Cyclops fall through Tartarus and he was pretty much sure he couldn't. But he had to try.

Another loud crack and the Cyclops stumbled. Nico's vision was now blurring.

Frank heaved a massive push one more time and the Cyclops finally fell on his back and had hit his head hard against his fallen club, fortunately knocking him out.

Nico suddenly felt weak and he watched as Frank shrunk back to his original size. He immediately saw how he held his arm as if it were broken and the blood that trickled down the side of his head. He tried to call to him, but he didn't even have the energy to use his voice and suddenly he fell face first to the ground.

So did Frank.

He then heard some shuffling behind him and just as he was about to try to tilt his head to see what Will was doing, the Cyclops shifted. He was immediately on full-alert—and he tried to stand up but his body was heavy as lead. He soon realized he couldn't even lift a finger.

His panic shot up as the Cyclops started to push himself off the ground.

_Nononononono…!_

He thought about Frank and—

He stiffened as a figure suddenly appeared in front of him and his dark eyes widened as he saw the familiar broad back and mop of blonde hair of Will Solace. The son of Apollo was in a fighting position—his legs parted in preparation to launch or run, and in his outstretched hands he held his sword.

And he was _trembling_.

"_**It's bad enough that **_**you**_** don't know how to fight!"**_

Nico never felt so bad before as the words he had said from Will echoed in his mind. He had never been so wrong. Of course Will didn't know how to fight. He _shouldn't _even know how to fight. It just… didn't suit him.

He was better off as a healer than a fighter.

Slowly, his hands clenched as he tried to reach out to the healer. He'd rather die than let the person in front of him fight.

"Will-"

Then a loud yell from above almost made the two jump. Nico caught a glimpse of a blur (was that a Pegasus?) rush past the Cyclopes and a figure dropped from the blur and landed on top of the Cyclops' chest who was just at the process of getting up. The monster didn't even have the time to react when the figure took out a sword and stabbed him swiftly.

He immediately recognized the mysterious person who turned to them. The familiar dark long hair and eyes— the purple cloak that fluttered behind her as she jumped off the body… and the familiar angry scowl on her face as she glared directly at him.

Yap, Reyna was going to kill him.

The Cyclops exploded into dust and Nico blacked out.

* * *

><p>Nico slowly rose to consciousness and soon found himself in the familiar infirmary of Camp Jupiter. Just how long had he been out? Wasn't he in Cleveland a while ago? A blurry figure suddenly loomed over him, making him squint as he tried to get a better look of who the person was.<p>

He soon recognized the person as Will Solace.

It took him some time to recognize him since his face was covered in scratches and his head was wrapped in a bandage, _and_ he was scowling at him. Usually he would smile softly when he would wake up. What changed? He wondered in amusement.

"You're awake."

"I'm aware."

His scowl deepened as if he just insulted him, making the son of Hades frown. Did he say something wrong?

"What were you _thinking_?!" Will demanded. His anger was now apparent and he looked like he was ready to explode any minute, "You could've gotten yourself killed! Were you even thinking at all?!"

Nico couldn't help but feel upset at this, as well as the anger that immediately responded to Will's, "That's some thanks for someone who almost got eaten."

"You expect me to thank you after you almost got yourself and Frank killed?!" The healer exclaimed, "You knew it was a Cyclops and you let yourself fall into his stupid voice-imitating trap!"

"Who—"

"Your sister did. I'd be lying if I said I'm not disappointed, Di Angelo."

The son of Hades' could feel his face heat up from both anger and embarrassment. Through gritted teeth he spoke, "Don't make me regret wasting my energy just trying to save you, _Solace_."

Then the anger in his pale blue eyes spiked up, "You did not just "waste" your energy, death boy, but you practically drained them! I'm starting to think that you purposely did rush into battle without thinking!"

The air around them suddenly grew cold and Nico tried to hold back the prickle at the back of his eyes, "Well I'm sorry for not thinking! It looks like I wasn't thinking properly too when I was deciding whether to save you or _not_!"

Will's fists were now clenched and he didn't seem to notice the sudden drop of temperature, "Do you have any idea how much you made everyone worried?!"

"Did _you_?"

"I did. But there wasn't much I could do with my situation, if you haven't noticed!"

Nico had pushed himself off the bed to seat up, "Well this wouldn't have happened if you didn't _let go_!"

"And what? Let Argus get attacked by those hellhounds?!"

"That's not—"

"Then what? I appreciate you coming for us, but couldn't you just let Reyna come and pick us up?"

"You would've been dead by the time they arrived." Nico darkly muttered.

"I think that's better than watching you practically rush into battle without even thinking ahead and almost got your sister's boyfriend killed!"

It was like Zeus had hit him with his master bolt. He didn't know what expression he made, but Will must have noticed he had said something pretty harsh as all the anger in his face melted into shock and regret.

He tried to muster up a scowl as he forced himself to stand, ignoring the slight sting on his ankle. Will tried to stop him but he pushed him away.

"Nico—you're supposed to be resting—"

"I've had enough rest." He growled, "I need some air."

"No, you don't." The scowl was back on the son of Apollo's face, "You need to rest." He grabbed his shoulder trying to push him down, "Doctor's. Orders."

"Too bad. I don't care." Nico glared as if challenging him.

"_What is going on here?!"_

Both turned to the curtains that were pushed open, revealing a really pissed-off Praetor. She looked back and forth to them, "I've been receiving complaint about a _disturbance_."

"Don't worry, I was about to leave anyway." Nico grumbled, about to walk out, but Reyna grabbed his arm. Her grip was firm and tight, stoppinghim from escaping.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked, "According to this guy you're supposed to be sleeping. You've drained too much energy shadow-travelling back and forth from here to Cleveland."

"Well, I feel fine now."

"Nico." Reyna looked like she was holding herself back from exploding, "You're not helping anyone by doing this." Her grip then tightened, "You've caused enough trouble."

He didn't know why he felt betrayed at that. He had known that Reyna would be angry, and most probably the others too and he knew he messed up really bad—but he couldn't help the hurt… and the sudden familiar feeling of being alone.

"So if I were you, I'd get my butt back to bed and just take that rest!"

He looked at Will who wasn't looking at him anymore.

Disappointment.

He looked back at Reyna who gave him a stern glare.

_Always a disappointment._

His thoughts then wandered to his sister, and he couldn't seem to rid the scene of Hazel sitting by the bedside of Frank, who was trying to assure her that he was fine despite the bruises and injuries.

_When would he stop making all these stupid disappointments?_

Reyna's grip suddenly weakened and he quickly pulled his arm from her hand and limped backwards to his bed.

Will suddenly shot up— almost like he got electrocuted as he turned to Nico with wide eyes, "Oh no you don't!"

He tried to grab his hand when the shadows surrounded the son of Hades for the umpteenth time. And Nico felt the warm hand of the other before it abruptly disappeared and he heard the horrified gasp of Reyna. He couldn't help but look back and realized that Will did manage to grab his hand…

…only to have his fingers go through it as it faded for like a second.

Fortunately, it was enough time for him to disappear into the darkness.

_**End of Chapter**_

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><p><strong>So... I'm going to post a solangelo Christmas fic on Christmas. <strong>

**Anyway~ please REVIEW!**


	5. Encouragements and Discouragements

**This was supposed to be updated last week, but the holidays got me distracted (teehee). I really apologize for that! So anyway, here's the new chapter and I'm sooo sorry it took a while. X3**

**ENJOY!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 5<strong>_

Will really wanted to kick himself. Then he wanted to heal himself and kick himself again. He ran past the bath house and ignored the ghosts that kept giving him weird looks. Normally, this would have freaked him out, or probably think it was amazing, but right now he was too worried to even care.

After Nico's disappearing act in the infirmary, he panicked really bad. It didn't help that the Praetor chick practically pushed him against the wall and started threatening him painful deaths if he didn't find Nico and heal him up. Usually, that would've shaken him up, but the only fear he felt was for Nico.

He remembered how he managed to grab the boy, and was about to pull him back— when his hand suddenly disappeared like smoke. He was so shocked and stunned that this gave the boy the opportunity to shadow travel away from him. _Again._

How did he not notice the darkness that had again taken residence within the boy? Was he so angry at him that he practically blinded himself from the real issue at that moment?

He groaned and rubbed a frustrated hand over his face. He was supposed to be a healer! He was supposed to be a professional at this! How could he have let himself be affected by his emotions? It was basic protocol! Health first—emotions later. Seriously, they always show it on TV how the nurses would never let the family members in the wards, because one; they were nothing but a distraction, and two; their emotional breakdown may stress the patient into getting worse instead.

Stupid… stupid… _stupid!_

He tried to look over the people that walked back and forth in the busy streets, trying to find the son of Hades, when he heard someone call him from behind. He turned around in expectation, hoping to see the person he was looking for, only to be disappointed as he saw the daughter of Athena instead.

She was now wearing a different outfit from the last time he saw her— a plain blue shirt with a gray owl printed on the front, a pair of jeans, and a pair of white sneakers—her curly blonde hair was tied to a ponytail, and her stormy gray eyes stared at him in a calculating manner. She approached him and crossed her arms. Her eyebrow shot up as she spoke, "I heard that you let your patient escape you."

Will never talked to her, so it was a little weird for him, "Uhh… yeah. I'm trying to look for him actually."

Annabeth stared at him a little longer, and Will couldn't help but think that he was nothing but a specimen ready to be cut open for further examination in her eyes. Her lips twitched into a smirk almost as if she had read his mind before tilting her head to another direction, "Come with me. I want to show you something."

* * *

><p>Nico glared across the valley, his eyes not really meeting the field of Mars, but rather at the sun (not directly of course) that shone brightly on the beautiful blue sky. He didn't know how long he was exactly out and he didn't really care. All he really wanted right now was for the week to be over and to have a certain son of Apollo back in Camp Half-blood. He decided that maybe staying in Camp Jupiter would be better for him. He could check on Frank once in a while to make sure he was okay (and probably apologize) and once he's fully recovered—he will go to the underworld and hang out with the dead instead.<p>

At least they wouldn't be chastising him over stupid mistakes.

He kicked a stray bone near him before pulling his knees close against his chest. He buried his face in his arms and let the air around him turn cold.

"_**I think that's better than watching you practically rush into battle without even thinking ahead and almost got your sister's boyfriend killed!"**_

His fists clenched tightly as he felt the anger bubble up inside him once more. The bones around him started rattling as if about to reattach itself with its other parts, but Nico tried to hold it in.

_I tried to save him and this is the thanks I get._ He scowled deeper.

"I sometimes forget that you really are still a kid, Nico di Angelo." Nico almost jumped in surprise and automatically tried to grab his sword, only to realize that it wasn't on his chain belt.

The annoying son of Apollo still had it.

Reyna suddenly sat next to him and gave him a pointing glare, "Don't you dare try shadow travelling again, or I'm going to have to knock you out."

Nico didn't reply, instead, he just looked straight ahead at the fields and pulled his legs against his chest.

Reyna raised an eyebrow, "Are you actually giving me the silent treatment?"

Nico scowled and clenched his sleeves, "No. I'm just…" He looked at her with an annoyed and guilty look, "I'm sorry… for everything."

The older teen huffed and crossed her arms. Her dark eyes were filled with rage making Nico shrink further, "You should be. You gave us a lot of trouble, not to mention you made everyone worried after sneaking out last night— and you didn't even tell anyone!"

"Hazel and Frank knew…"

"And you brought them with you."

"Hey—if we hadn't arrived, Solace and Argus would be dead by now." He argued.

"If _I _hadn't arrived, _all of you_ would be dead by now." They were now stuck in a glaring contest and Nico knew he was in the losing side. And just as he was about to look away, he was surprised when he was suddenly engulfed in a hug.

"I'm not saying what you did was a mistake." Reyna sighed as the son of Hades stiffened, "If it weren't for you, those two really would've been toast. But what you did was wrong."

"You're not making any sense." He tried to act nonchalant as she finally let go, but a hand remained on his shoulder. Her grip was firm and reassuring and Nico knew that she was still shaken up at what happened in the infirmary. She would probably talk to him about that later.

"I heard that you knew it was a Cyclops." She looked at him sternly, "And its basic knowledge that those monsters are able to imitate voices to lure demigods into traps. So how come _you_, of all people, fell for it?"

Nico could feel his face heat up. And at that moment he couldn't help but think— maybe fading into a ghost wouldn't be so bad rather than admitting that he got scared.

Seriously…

The son of Hades—who hung out with the ghosts and summoned the undead and practically had an adventure down at Tartarus all on his own—_afraid?_

The grip on his shoulder tightened, almost as if Reyna had read her mind and he sighed as he admitted, "I panicked. In my dream… I was too late to save him. So I thought… when I heard him scream like that…" The son of Hades shuddered at the memory. His screams would haunt him in his nightmares forever, "I just had to save that idiot..."

The hand left his shoulder and Reyna leaned back, trying to avoid the gems around her as much as possible.

He could feel the stare of the praetor but didn't say anything. Then she spoke,

"So… this Will…" Something didn't sound right in her voice. And why wasn't she giving him a lecture about selfless heroes being overrated? "You seem to… look at him differently."

Nico snorted, "Maybe because his idiocy amazes me a lot."

"And you seem to call him an idiot a lot." He could somehow imagine her smiling the way she said those words, "Like how Annabeth does with Percy."

For some reason one of those popular Disney songs echoed at the back of his mind. _Conceal. Don't feel. Don't let __**her **__know. _Holy Hera, of all the idiotic-

"Maybe because Percy _is _an idiot?"

"I think there's more to that." Reyna innocently said, and that itself was dangerous, because she was never the innocent type, "And the way you argued. Usually you don't make a big deal about it… sure you brood a lot— but he's different."

"He said things that weren't supposed to be said!" Nico scowled and glared at Reyna, but the next words she said made the angry mask crumble in mere seconds.

"You like him don't you?"

Then his brain helpfully supplied— _Well now she knoooooows._

* * *

><p>Outside the main gates, Annabeth and Will stood by the fort that was located on the highest point of a valley. The son of Apollo gawked at the scene before him with wide eyes. He could see the chaotic city from afar and saw how people walked around, living their normal lives.<p>

And it was amazing that these people were _demigods_.

"This is just… _wow_."

"Yeah." Annabeth smirked but her eyes softened as she looked back at the city, "That's where Percy and I would be attending college. It's a beautiful place."

Suddenly Will finds himself daydreaming of himself walking around those streets. Also studying college and to have to grow old like how a normal person would, and to never have to worry about monsters attacking him every time he decided to walk go have a walk or something.

From afar, he sees a park and suddenly imagined himself taking a walk in there, with a certain son of Hades beside him. He was a little startled at the sudden imagination.

"Something wrong?"

"H-huh? Oh uhh… no. I just… I was just thinking how cool it would actually be if _I _get tolive here." Will tried not to sag in relief as he watched the blonde nodded her head in understanding. But his relief immediately disappeared when she added, "You know, when Percy saw this place, not that I'm boasting or anything, he immediately started thinking about… us. The two of us living a normal life here… _together_."

Her gray eyes flashed as she looked at the healer who remained still, "Don't you have that someone, Will Solace?"

"Why would you ask that all of a sudden?" He quickly countered as he pocketed his hands.

"When you saw that city, you couldn't help but imagine yourself living there, right?" She crossed her arms, "Who was the first person you imagined to be with there? Your family? Your siblings? Friends?"

"Something like that." Will shrugged a little too casually, "He's no one important."

He couldn't help but wince at what he said. Both at what he meant and at what he revealed.

"I think you're wrong." Annabeth said firmly, "And that's saying something from a daughter of Athena."

She then added much to his embarrassment, "And I doubt you see Nico that way."

Will remained silent as his face started heating up. He was starting to feel like an idiot. Do all people start feeling stupid when they talk to the sons and daughters of Athena?

The older teen suddenly started laughing, "I'm sorry if I'm not like Piper. I'm not really an expert at stuff like this. But I'm good at planning and thinking critically. I'm more of the mind rather than the heart."

"Connection?" Will felt the tense feeling from earlier seeped away as she finally stopped sounding like a teacher lecturing him.

She shrugged, "I just thought you might need some advice." Then she looked over him, "You know, there are times you seem to care and not care."

"I don't really understand." Will really couldn't understand anything, not with Annabeth jumping from topic to topic.

"I'm just saying, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Back in the SUV you hardly looked at Piper and I when you kept hitting on Nico. And now, you look like I'm trying to ask you to walk around naked."

"Thanks. Now I feel more humiliated than I should be."

"And why do you even have to?"

Pale blue eyes looked down sadly and the son of Apollo let out a shuddering breath, "You know why."

There was a small silence— which was surprising since he always thought that Annabeth would be able to reply to him over everything and anything.

"I'm pretty sure… you know how Nico acts around everyone right?" She finally said. She sounded careful the way she spoke.

"You mean the way he always acts like he doesn't want anyone around him?" He huffed as he couldn't help but feel the familiar annoyance when he remembered this.

The other looked at him, looking mildly amused as if he had just said a horrible joke.

"It's actually the other way around." She continued, "And I'm pretty sure you know what I mean."

As soon as those gray eyes landed on his pale blue ones, words echoed in his mind as if on cue.

_When this war is over, I'm leaving both camps._

_I don't belong._

_No one wants me._

Then he felt this hollow feeling of loneliness in his chest as though the words' emotions decided to slap him in the face.

And understanding dawned in him like how it was meant to. He always knew the kids of the Athena cabin never had these weird magic things that most campers can do, but he couldn't help but think that maybe that moment of clarity that Annabeth had provided him could actually be one of those special gifts an Athena kid could have.

"He actually thought no one wanted him." Annabeth supplied as she looked away, "He was afraid that he would always be rejected… and that no one would be able to accept him. Percy and I tried to prove him wrong… but I guess… we just weren't the right people."

Will clenched his fists and looked down. He felt the shame once more, but it was now over a different reason.

"Although, he's slowly opening up, I can still see the wall."

"It's hard to make him speak up." Will blurted as he remembered what happened back in the infirmary, "When he's given an opportunity to… he would run away!"

"Because in his eyes, he sees that opportunity as a possibility of rejection instead." The way Annabeth said it was like she was reading it out of a textbook, sounding rational and informative, but there was a hint of sadness in her tone, "Don't you see? He's just a kid. A kid who was plucked out of his timeline only to end up losing his sister, before suddenly finding out he was a child of the underworld whom all the campers feared and had to go through Tartarus alone and then—"

He immediately noticed how Annabeth suddenly held one of the beads in her necklace and saw how she fingered the one with the drawing of a trident.

She need not say more. Nico's crush over Percy spread around camp like wild fire, and Will was apparently one of those people who took the news by surprise.

"Yeah…" He said before swallowing thickly, "I… yeah."

"Who _is_ Nico di Angelo to you, Will Solace?" Annabeth suddenly sounded stern. He made the mistake of looking at her and almost yelped at the intensity in her stormy gray eyes, "As I have said, I'm not Piper who can easily read through people's emotions. I only base everything in logic and in proof. So unless you tell _me_ that he is at least someone _special _to you, I'm going to tell _you_ to back away from him to save him from getting hurt."

She uncrossed her arms and actually fingered the dagger strapped on her hip, "He's still our friend, no matter what."

Will was lost for words. He had no idea of what to exactly say or do. He looked at her then suddenly, back to the city (which was a little dangerous, because the way Annabeth had touched her dagger, she might actually decapitate him once he let his guard down.)

And suddenly he blurted, "What do I do?"

The daughter of Athena looked startled. Apparently, not expecting the question as her answer.

So he took a deep breath and decided to rephrase his question with a smile, albeit nervous but filled with determination, "What do I do to make it up with Death boy?"

Much to his surprise she chuckled and finally dropped her hand to her side, away from her weapon.

She smirked and answered, "Athena always has a plan."

* * *

><p>"He's—he's… I… he—I don't!" Nico scowled deeply. It would've been impressively scary if not for the blush that crept up his face.<p>

He was expecting an amused look or probably a chuckle like how most people would do when he would get flustered, but instead Reyna gave him a stern look. The innocent look from earlier may have been a trap for a confirmation. Which she obviously got.

She frowned deeply, "Nico. I want you to know something."

His heart suddenly dropped, though he had no idea why.

Reyna put a hand over his, and gripped it, "I've been through what you have. And… call it a _crush _or _love_—"

"I don't—"

"Don't expect too much." Nico looked at her in surprise and confusion. She sighed and looked at him sadly, "Let's say… there was just this one or… two times I thought I actually had a chance, only to be turned down." She suddenly shook her head, chuckling darkly, "I never thought I'd actually share this to anyone… but I just had to let you know."

It was like those instances when Reyna would usually lend him her strength and courage for battle, but instead of either one of the two, he just felt both pain and sadness that seemed to resonate within her.

"I don't like him." He insisted, but this time it was half-hearted.

"That's what I used to say too." Reyna muttered.

The son of Hades tried not to let it get to him as he sucked in a breath.

"Not that I'm saying he's not interested on you or anything." He must've looked really miserable that Reyna suddenly decided to take back most of her words, "I just want to warn you that…" She hesitated, "Sometimes things are not what you hoped them to be."

Nico nodded, though it felt a little stiff. Reyna's words seemed to wash over him like a cold bucket of water, and no sooner did he find himself sinking into his thoughts. She did have a fair point. For a moment, Nico may have thought that Will actually _liked_ him… but, how would he know? Who was he to assume something as crazy as that?

He had heard that guys were naturally friendly and nice to the people they like _as friends_ and their intentions were easily mistaken as infatuation. Of course, Will was just being friendly with him. And he was only acting nice to him because of all that stupid "Doctor's orders" stuff.

And yeah, maybe the son of Hades did like him more than just a friend but… he just had to suck it up.

He couldn't risk losing their friendship, which was probably the next best thing he could ever have from the son of Apollo.

"I'm just telling you this because I don't want to see you get hurt." Reyna sighed, "I don't want you to feel the same disappointments I've felt."

"You just want me to be careful, right?" He tried to smile, but it was a little hard at that moment.

Reyna nodded and suddenly she looked guilty, "Nico… I—look. I'm not trying to discourage you or anything—"

"I know you're not." Nico interrupted as he stood up and dusted his pants, wincing a bit as he leaned on his bad ankle, "You're only trying to help me. And… prepare me for the worse. And it's okay, really. For once… I think I probably need this, you know?"

Reyna hesitated and Nico tried to assure her with a smile. It must've been so believable that the praetor nodded her head and returned the smile as well.

"Come on. I probably owe Solace an apology." He said holding out a hand to her, which the other had accepted.

The two then got down from the roof of Pluto's shrine and headed out.

"You better not shadow travel this time. Or I swear on the river of Styx I'm going to chain you up in iron."

"Seems like someone had been researching about ghosts." Nico's cheeks hurt as he attempted to grin.

Reyna looked relieved as she saw this and immediately tried to hide it with a scowl and a rude retort. The two continued on their way back to the Praetoria, totally unaware of the blonde that hid behind one of the pillars of the shrine.

Jason sighed and leaned against the pillar. He crossed his arms before looking back to Nico, who still had the obvious fake smile on his face.

* * *

><p>Will was surprised to see Nico in the infirmary, actually sleeping on one of the beds. Reyna was leaning against the wall, next to the bed, and looked up just in time as she saw the blond walked in. Before he could open his mouth to ask, Reyna held up a hand, successfully silencing him. Then she suddenly gestured to him to follow her, and without waiting for a reply, she walked out.<p>

The son of Apollo could only gulp as he knew nothing good was going to come out of this. He looked back at Nico before deciding to follow the praetor before she actually tries to kill him.

"Look Solace. First things first…" How she found out he was there when her back was still turned, he'll never know, "I don't want you near him anymore."

He froze, "Uhm… what?"

She turned around and glared, "You heard me."

Will looked at her in confusion, "I don't—I mean… what are you trying to accomplish here?"

She stepped forward to him, and the healer tried to hold his ground, but he couldn't hold back the gulp, "I don't want Nico to get hurt anymore." More confusion settled in those pale blue eyes and anger started boiling within the praetor.

"I know his pain—and I just don't say that because I'm a close friend or anything. But because I literally felt his pain." She thrust a finger to his chest, "And it's something that's not supposed to be carried around by any demigod for the rest of their lives."

"Wha—you think I'm going to hurt him?"

"I _know_ you'regoing to hurt him."

"And what makes you think that?" Will retorted, feeling a little insulted, "I mean—what makes you think I'm even capable of hurting someone like Nico? I know we just fought but I'm going to apologize—"

Reyna shook her head, "It will be more than that Solace. I know."

The way she looked at him—angry… displeased… cautious—those were definitely signs of loathing right there. And instead of feeling defensive and furious for being judged so quickly, he remained quiet. He perfectly understood her purpose… and her worry. She was only doing this out of care for Nico and was merely being protective. He had heard stories about their adventures trying to bring the huge statue of Athena to camp. Everything they had been through… all the sufferings, fears and fights… it brought them closer.

It was hard not to notice, with the way Nico had buried his face in Reyna's shoulders as she engulfed him in an embrace—right then and there, as Will himself saw that moment, he felt his heart melt and ache at the scene.

"I will never hurt him." Will finally said, trying to sound firm and less angry, "There may be moments that I would say stupid things without thinking. And I know I can never avoid the moments when we might start yelling hurtful things to each other—but I'll _never _hurt him. At least not the way you think I will."

Reyna was silent, she was trying to look impassive, but the surprise in her eyes where apparently hard to hide. Then she spoke, "You can never be too sure about that, Solace. Most of our words are not easily controlled, like the little dispute you had earlier."

He looked at her with wide eyes, "You heard that?"

"Apparently."

He then shook his head, "It doesn't even matter. I'm going to apologize to him and make it up to him." Will insisted, "I'm going to prove you wrong."

"I would like to see you try." She glared, but the corner of her mouth twitched.

The son of Apollo merely straightened himself up and walked away. His face was set into a determined look as he headed back to the bed of the son of Hades. He didn't notice the way Reyna's eyes softened as she looked at him.

_Please do prove me wrong, Will Solace_.

_**End of Chapter**_

* * *

><p><strong>Now, don't get it wrong… Reyna isn't being a villain here. She's just being the caring friend she's supposed to be, and seriously—after everything she had been through with her love life, I think it would only be natural that she may discourage the son of Hades for perfectly good reasons.<strong>

**It is true that friends usually encourage you with that one guy or girl you have a crush on, but there would always be that one friend who would try to warn you about false expectations and the lot (being the **_**experienced**_** one and all). Trying to keep you grounded in case you get the messages wrong and embarrass yourself, you know? And I really thought Reyna would be that perfect kind of character! Don't you?**

**PS: Really appreciated those reviews. Keep them coming, ey?**


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